Free Web NovelChapter 28: The Golden Blood (1)
Maeve stayed silent and let Ikarus continue speaking.
"When an Azuryn child grows inside another Azuryn person, nothing happens because we naturally share the same blood," Ikarus explained. "But if someone outside our race carries our child... then the blood inside the fetus can slowly harm the mother."
Maeve’s eyes widened immediately. For a second, her body tensed as if she was ready to argue or panic, but before she could say anything, Ikarus suddenly spoke again.
"I thought a Goddess would be immune to our blood, but..." His voice trembled slightly. He gritted his teeth and lowered his head, guilt clear all over his face. "I’m sorry."
Those words made Maeve’s feelings turn complicated because Ikarus truly looked like he felt deeply sorry for hurting her. Yet at the same time, he was still unbelievably stubborn. Even after she had told him again and again that she was not a Goddess, he still refused to believe it.
Or maybe... he had simply placed too much hope on her.
After living for so long in a dying land and losing countless people while trying to protect his tribe, perhaps he desperately wanted to believe that someone like Maeve had finally come to save them.
He was desperate, and desperation could easily become something dangerous if it went too far.
"Ikarus, listen..." Maeve said weakly, trying to gather the little strength left in her body just to keep talking to him. "You really need to know the truth about me."
She paused for a moment to catch her breath before continuing softly, "First, I’m not a Goddess. I don’t have some hidden divine power that can protect me from everything in this world."
"And second..." Maeve lifted her eyes to look directly at him. "I’m not from heaven either. I may come from another world, but it’s nothing like the beautiful place you imagined. It’s just a normal world. There’s no magic there, no miracles, nothing extraordinary."
She slowly placed her hand against her chest, as if trying to make him understand her sincerity. freēwēbnovel.com
"I’m human," Maeve whispered softly. "Just a normal creature who can die easily and doesn’t have any special abilities."
"But you were able to accept my seed," Ikarus pointed out quietly. "If you were truly as ordinary as you said, then you... probably wouldn’t have been able to accept me from the very beginning."
Maeve fell silent for a moment before finally speaking again. "I may be an ordinary person, but... I do receive help from something divine."
"Like the Sky Mother?" Ikarus immediately asked.
Maeve hesitated for a few seconds before giving a small nod. "Yeah... something like the Sky Mother."
But honestly, instead of looking like some holy and graceful goddess, that divine being looked more like a floating mochi.
"But still... I’m not that special, so please don’t place too much hope on me. And honestly, I don’t like it when you call me ’Goddess’ either," Maeve said softly. "It really doesn’t fit me at all."
"You’re still special," Ikarus replied without hesitation. "And ever since you stepped into our world, you’ve brought a lot of luck to us."
Maeve let out a soft sigh, already feeling that Ikarus would probably continue calling her Goddess no matter what she said.
"But if you truly dislike being called ’Goddess,’ then I’ll try not to call you that anymore," he said. "So instead... what would you like us to call you?"
Maeve’s eyes widened slightly at the question. "How about... my name?" she answered carefully.
"Maeve?"
She gave him a small nod. "Maeve."
"Alright then... Maeve," Ikarus repeated slowly. There was a slight awkwardness in his voice, as though he was still getting used to saying her name directly.
Yet that one simple word unexpectedly made Maeve’s heart feel warm. A bright smile even slowly appeared on her face before she could even stop it herself.
Maybe it was because almost no one in her life had ever truly called her by her real name before.
Usually, people called her things she hated, like "Orphan," "Bringer of Misfortune," or "Red Head." Even at work, people rarely called her Maeve. She was usually just "the rookie" or "the new girl."
Those labels were not completely wrong, but still... she wished people would stop calling her everything except her actual name.
"So, Maeve..." Ikarus called her again, but this time his voice became much more serious. "About what we discussed earlier, I need you to listen carefully."
The smile on Maeve’s lips slowly faded, replaced by curiosity. She straightened her back slightly and focused fully on his words.
"Although the blood of the Azuryn Tribe can bring disaster to others, we eventually discovered a way to prevent our descendants from killing their mother if she comes from another tribe or even another species."
Maeve stayed silent because she wanted to hear the rest of Ikarus’ explanation first.
A few seconds later, Ikarus finally took a deep breath before continuing.
"We have to inject our blood directly into your heart. The process will not happen instantly, because the purpose is to let the golden blood slowly adapt to your body and recognize you as one of us."
Maeve blinked several times, completely stunned by what she had just heard.
"I’m sorry... what?" she asked slowly, sounding both confused and slightly doubtful of Ikarus’ sanity. "How exactly are you supposed to inject your blood directly into my heart?"
Ikarus fell silent for a moment, as if trying to think of the easiest way to explain it without frightening her even more.
Then, slowly, he lifted one of his hands and pressed it against the center of his own chest.
"We use this," he said in low voice.
The faint golden lines beneath his skin suddenly began to glow again, spreading from his chest down toward his arm like flowing streams of light.
Maeve couldn’t even blink. "You’re telling me your blood can... move on its own?" she asked.
"A little," Ikarus admitted. "The golden blood inside our bodies is different from normal blood. It reacts to our will."
